The Global Business Travel Association (GBTA) announced the launch of GBTA India to establish membership and provide educational content and events for the Indian business travel community. India is currently the 10th largest business travel market in the world and is expected to become a top-five market within 15 years due to double-digit growth rates. GBTA has partnered with ProKonsul, a business travel management consultant, to deliver its core activities of education, research, advocacy and networking in India and Asia Pacific.
1. FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Colleen Gallagher, +1 703-236-1133, cgallagher@gbta.org
Gaurav Sundaram, +91-9873196115, gaurav@prokonsul.in
GBTA Announces Launch in India
India Currently 10th Largest Business Travel Market in the World, Poised for Breakout Growth
Alexandria, VA/Gurgaon (April 19, 2016) – The Global Business Travel Association (GBTA), the voice
of the global business travel industry, today announced the launch of GBTA India as part of its
continuing global expansion. GBTA’s initial focus in the region will be on establishing a broad based
membership among the Indian business travel community and developing quality educational content
and events.
India is currently the 10th largest business travel market in the world, but with double digit growth
rates expected for business travel spend, the region will likely be a top-five business travel market in
the next 15 years.
“The business travel market in India is one of the healthiest in the world and given its exponential
growth rates, there is a clear need for innovative education and training to ensure there are enough
qualified business travel professionals to keep up with the rise in demand,” said Michael W.
McCormick, GBTA executive director and COO. “We are pleased to partner with ProKonsul on this
endeavour and welcome Gaurav Sundaram as GBTA India Regional Director.”
GBTA has engaged in a collaborative partnership with ProKonsul, a specialized business travel
management consultant with expertise in managed business travel and technology in India and Asia.
With ProKonsul, GBTA will deliver its core activities of education, research, advocacy and networking
in India and Asia Pacific.
“GBTA’s entry into India and its partnership with ProKonsul represent very strong commitments to one
of the fastest growing markets in the world. The Indian market has a significant demand for
professional education, quality research and industry networking opportunities that GBTA has global
leadership in,” said Gaurav Sundaram, President, ProKonsul. “ProKonsul is delighted to partner with
GBTA in this endeavour.”
Welcoming these developments, Mr. Subrato Sarkaar, Joint President - Corporate Administration for
the US$ 41 Billion multinational Aditya Birla Group, which operates in 36 countries across six
continents said, “GBTA will significantly improve the standards of professionalism in the business
travel industry in India through its focus on education and research. In ProKonsul, GBTA has a very
strong local partner.”
Mr. Ankur Bhatia, Director, Amadeus India, commented, “We are delighted to welcome the Global
Business Travel Association and look forward to them establishing a broad based membership among
the Indian business travel community. GBTA brings together dynamic individuals in business travel on
a common platform and nurtures young professionals by training them on necessary skills in using and
adapting to solutions being used by corporations including self-booking tools, duty of care and other
technology solutions. We believe that this is a natural progression to India’s projected growth in
business travel.”
2. Through partnerships and visionary leadership from its members, GBTA has changed the landscape of
business travel management across the globe and plans to bring this same industry-leading education
to India. GBTA will also continue to produce its semi-annual GBTA BTI™ Outlook – India forecasts,
which are recognized as the industry benchmark report for the region.
About ProKonsul
ProKonsul optimizes the business travel lifecycle for its clients through advisory & consulting
solutions. It delivers domain expertise in managed business travel & technology in India/Asia. Its
practice is structured around three verticals
The Buyer Practice - Consulting & advisory engagements with enterprise travel buyers
The Industry Practice - Strategic advisory to business travel industry partners
The Knowledge Practice - Developing & delivering quality education and training programs
In addition , Prokonsul offers global VAT reclaim solutions in Asia through its collaboration with
Taxback International, Ireland
Learn more at www.prokonsul.in
About the Global Business Travel Association
The Global Business Travel Association (GBTA) is the world’s premier business travel and meetings
trade organization headquartered in the Washington, D.C. area with operations on six continents.
GBTA’s 7,000-plus members manage more than $345 billion of global business travel and meetings
expenditures annually. GBTA and the GBTA Foundation deliver world-class education, events,
research, advocacy and media to a growing global network of more than 28,000 travel professionals
and 125,000 active contacts. To learn how business travel drives business growth, visit www.gbta.org.